Storage of Fresh Water - How Long

A week without significant use of water in the tank and refilling from a fresh water source. Temperature plays an important part of this. I’m not a water waster but why push it. I empty after every trip. I sanitize before every trip.

my rv is 16teen years old ,can,t hardly beleave it. but from day one I empty all my tanks after every trip. everything is org. put a drain valve on my hot water tank. I,M on well water has a few more germs than city. sanitize twice a year apr and july.no ones ever been sick. live in ohio.p.s filters don,t kill germs.

Same here , all tanks empty and cleaned after every trip. We do carry bottle water to cook and drink. Got sick once on a trip from the water and that is not a good thing when traveling. Can't help you your on your filter.

I have chlorinated city water. As long as I was going back out (or using it at home) within a month, I didn't drain it. If the RV was going to sit unused for more than a month, than I drained it.

As for the fresh water tank, my rule of thumb is if its going to sit for more than a couple weeeks I will drain it. I carry less than 1/3 so not much is sent to the ground.

As for the water heater, I drain mine at the end of the season. Clean it out using a water heater nozzle on the hose. I have never understood the folks who drain after every trip. My question is do they drain their water heater at home when they leave?

I live in Florida and do not have to worry about my tanks freezing. For this reason I never empty my fresh water tank or water heater. I have treated municipal water and I top the tanks off with as much water as they will hold to minimize oxygen in the tanks that could promote the growth of bacteria. This also gives me a reference to check to see if there are any leaks in the system. I do have an under counter water filter and I have never noticed any difference in the taste of the water from it sitting. Since we occasionally have hurricanes in Florida our RV is our lifeline if a storm hits

rgatijnet1 wrote:
I live in Florida and do not have to worry about my tanks freezing. For this reason I never empty my fresh water tank or water heater. I have treated municipal water and I top the tanks off with as much water as they will hold to minimize oxygen in the tanks that could promote the growth of bacteria. This also gives me a reference to check to see if there are any leaks in the system. I do have an under counter water filter and I have never noticed any difference in the taste of the water from it sitting. Since we occasionally have hurricanes in Florida our RV is our lifeline if a storm hits

I do pretty much the same, except I drain and sanitize the fresh water tank 2 or 3 x a year.

A lot depends on where you got the "fresh" water that filled your tank and how long it has been there. If it came from your local municipal water supply, chances are the water has been recently chlorinated and disinfected with ozone, UV, or whatever the local water treatment plant currently does. You can usually call them and ask if you want to know for sure. If the water came from a private well, that's not the case. It could be much better than municipal water, or much worse. Test kits are available. Google is your friend.

For me, if it looks bad (anything other than clear) smells bad, or tastes bad, dump it and flush the system with fresh chlorinated water. I drink/cook with RO (reverse osmosis) water.

Chum lee

“My question is do they drain their water heater at home when they leave?”

No, I don’t.

hmmm I only drain at the end of the year and sanitize in the spring. I'm on well water.

After reading this thread maybe I should do it more often, but then again it might be like changing your oil every 3000 miles, nice but not necessary.